Ben and I lounged around his kitchen for a while longer than I should have. It was nice to not rush out the door
first thing to get behind the wheel for another marathon session behind the wheel.I was actually anticipating this stretch of the drive more than any other. It's not jsut becuase i would be at my destination at the end of the day, but I heard so much about driving across the emptyness of Nevada.
I headed out of SLC on Rt. 80, due west. I was back on hte original road that Google said I should be on.
Something I never saw in my month in SLC back in 2002, surprisingly, was the Great Salt Lake itself. The city largely turned its back on the lake and it's too salty to have a lot of recreational activity like pleasure boats, jet-skis or any activity involving people.
I top off the gas tank in one of those Hollywood classic desolate-gas station in the middle-of-nowhere spots.
Nevada turns out to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the entire trip. All I had ever seen before of
Nevada was Las Vegas, Lake Mead and the area in between. That was super-arid desert. Northern Nevada, along Route 80, was rich in steppe vegetation, scrub trees, tall grasses and many, many scenic mountain views.What was also surprising was that even though the desert expanse was indeed vast, the towns that I passed by did have wholly-developed economies, office towers, car dealerships, housings tracts, high schools, railroad yards, factories, farms, everything a self-sustaining economy needs.
Around mid-afternoon I had to stop for gas and lunch. My truck was once-again completely grubby after the Utah snowstorms, so I got some
of the most expensive gas I've ever seen and a $7 'touchless' automatic car wash that did a good job on my truck.That done, I looked at my options for lunch. There were some fast-food joints that weren't too appealing, and of course, being Nevada, there was the Casino Restaurant. If it was anything like Vegas, the food would be good, big portions and cheap.
I walked into the Casino through to the restaurant and saw the rejects who would net be permitted into Vegas Casinos: desperate looking people chain-smoking cigarettes, gazing absently into video poker screens. Since I don't gamble, because it holds no thrill for me, I was saddened to see these people, viewing their situation objectively.
As predicted, the Casino delivered a huge sandwich and a great salad bar. The staff was nice, but many had a look of 'I wish life had lead me somewhere else than here'
I plowed on from this not-as-good-as Vegas town onto Reno. From there it should be about three hours to San Francisco. I'm excited to pass through the Lake Tahoe Region; it'll be my new stomping-ground for snowboarding.
Around 5:30PM I cross into California. Talk about a HUGE weight lifted off of me. I go screaming through the mini-vegas that is Reno and catch glimpses of some ski slopes in the Lake Tahoe region.
Another precarious stretch of driving commences in California: a rapid, twisty descent at 75 miles per hour on Route 80 from the state border down into Sacramento. This is a descent of 5,000 feet within 30 minutes at 75+ MPH. These long stretches of 6%, 8%, 9%+ grade descents call for down shifting instead of burning ones brakepads. The engine isn't entirely happy revving to 4000 RPM to manage the trucks speed.
I chase a sunset into the ocean as i cruise into Sacramento. Once there, I see my first-ever California Traffic Jam. It's only a delay of 15 or 20 minutes, but it is still annoying. It's evening now and I'm tired. Almost there.
Around 8PM I'm getting into the San Francisco metro area.
At 8:15 I hit the tolls for the Bay Bridge (not the Golden Gate Bridge, that is different) and cruise right up to 4005 Folsom Street.
Elaine, the owner of the house and my landlord, comes out to greet me. I've never been so happy to see someone I've never met before. It's 8:30 and I'm in San Francisco.
We discover my truck to too long to fit in the garage. I'm too tired to deal with anything, however. I bring in the bedding and other essentials and get to bed nice and early on Saturday night in the City.
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